Advising Sophomores

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For many students, the sophomore year is an exciting time to take new classes and meet new instructors. At the same time, the second year of college presents unique challenges that require more focus and support than the first year. Because the sophomore year has much less programmatic structure than the FYE, sophomores come to rely more heavily on faculty guidance for setting academic, personal, and career goals. Indeed, it is during the sophomore year that your advising relationship with a student may mature into a mentoring relationship. Whereas an advisor is adept at helping students navigate all-college requirements and register for courses, a mentor helps the student reflect on the coursework she has completed, placing it in the broader context of institutional goals for student learning, her cocurricular experience, and her plans for the future as she considers alternative majors, the possibility of study abroad, and her life after Skidmore.

The sophomore year is an ideal time to recommend that students consider participating in collaborative research with faculty or pursuing academic internships on or off campus. In some cases, department or program-based internships at the 299 level may be appropriate for students seeking to engage with the knowledge they have already acquired in the classroom. For students wishing to explore areas where they have little prior experience, the Office of Academic Advising oversees 1, 2, and 3-credit IN 100 internships that are not tied to specific disciplines. Credit-bearing internships can be pursued during the academic year or over the summer. Applications are processed by the Office of Academic Advising. An extensive catalog of internship opportunities (both paid and unpaid) can be accessed through the Career Development Center’s "Find Opportunities" portal as well as portals maintained by specific programs and advising clusters, such as Environmental Studies and Sciences and Political Science.   

This is also a good time to recommend that your advisees consider being a First-Year Experience peer mentor, a Writing Center tutor, or a tutor for Student Academic Services. Some of the options listed on these pages are antidotes to sophomore slump that promote sophomore engagement, and advisors are encouraged to discuss them with their advisees.

Keeping Abreast of Graduation Requirements

Requirements that must be completed by the end of the sophomore year include the foundation component of Expository Writing and QR1 (by completing MA 100 if the student did not pass the QR Exam during the first year).  

All students have 24-hour access to their degree audits. While guidance from advisors is important, please impress upon advisees that the completion of requirements toward the degree is their responsibility, and they should become careful and close readers of their degree audits. Make sure sophomore advisees know how to use this tool. Refer them to the document “How to Request a Degree Audit” on the Registrar’s website: www.skidmore.edu/registrar/current/index.php, or better yet, walk them through the process of obtaining and reading their audits.

Study Abroad

Nearly 60% of our students include study abroad in their degree plan; this is the time to direct your advisees to the Office of Off-Campus Study and Exchanges (OCSE) in Starbuck Center. Research should begin early in the sophomore year. A cumulative GPA of 3.000 or higher and a declared major are baseline requirements for study abroad. Student must also have completed all-college requirements appropriate to their year of study. Students who do not meet these minimal standards may petition the Committee on Academic Standing (CAS) through the OCSE. Students who intend on studying less commonly taught languages while abroad, including (but not limited to) Chinese, Swahili, Portuguese, and Russian, might consider applying for a Boren Scholarship.

Choosing and Declaring a Major

Students are required to declare a major during the second semester of the sophomore year and before registering for courses for the junior year. As part of the process, students must have a faculty advisor from the major. If you have sophomore advisees who remain undeclared during the spring semester, the Office of Academic Advising will send notices to you and your undeclared advisees. You are, of course, welcome to continue to advise any student informally, but you should not be the official or primary advisor to a student majoring outside your field. If the student is stumped and unable to choose a major, talk with him or her about some of the strategies listed in this guide and encourage the student to visit with staff in the OAA for additional information and guidance.

A number of Skidmore students will arrive on campus knowing what field they want to major in and should be well under way with requirements by the sophomore year in areas such as the health professions, education, pre-engineering, and studio art. We hope faculty advisors will challenge students who come to college with plans “set in cement” to think about and explain their rationale. The majority of our students, however, arrive undecided and will need assistance in deciding on a major. This subject can generate intense anxiety, and students benefit from reassurance that indecision and changing one’s mind about a major are normal. Constructing schedules that are broad and allow for exploration will help students begin to decide on a focus.  

Question advisees who want to complete a double major about their rationale for such a plan. Are academic plans that may possibly limit opportunities to explore or study abroad really what they want? The completion of a double major, while often possible with careful planning, is a very serious academic undertaking and may, in some cases, require intensified study—for example, in summer school.

Ask your advisee to consider the following strategies:

• Look up the requirements for possible majors and minors
• Go through the College Catalog, reading and making a list of courses of interest.  Are there connections among the courses that suggest a particular focus or theme?
• Talk to faculty (and upper-class students) about potential majors and minors
• Talk to classroom instructors
• Consider a self-determined major (for the very motivated). Self-Determined Major applications are due during the second semester of the sophomore year. Your advisee should see the SDM Program Director for assistance.
• Make an appointment with staff in the Office of Academic Advising

Post-Baccalaureate Planning: Early Stages

Except in the special case of Skidmore’s pre-professional programs, there is only a weak correlation between choice of major and post-baccalaureate opportunities and careers. Each major—and the liberal arts in general—prepare students for multiple pathways. The sophomore year is an excellent time to begin considering different opportunities.  

Encourage your student to:

• Make an appointment with a staff member in the Career Development Center (see additional information on page 30) to explore their resources, including the “Alumni/Parent Career Advisor Network”
• Investigate career resources on the internet
• Interview or shadow a professional in a field of interest
• Consider academic internships and summer employment opportunities (Office of Academic Advising and Career Development Center)
• Get involved in community service or volunteering (Office of Campus Life)
• Develop leadership skills (Office of Campus Life)
• Get a work-study or part-time job to build skills and work experience (Student Employment Office)

Academic Opportunities for Motivated Students

A list of opportunities (with the appropriate contacts) for your advisee who is achieving honors or who is highly motivated and looking for a challenge:

• Honors Forum courses: Director of Honors Forum
• Student Opportunity Funds for academic projects and travel-to-present: Inquire at the Office of Academic Advising.
• Internships for academic credit: Inquire at the Office of Academic Advising and Career Development Center.
• Research, collaborative research, and independent study projects: Individual faculty, DOF/VPAA Office (collaborative), and the Office of Academic Advising
• National Merit Fellowships: Inquire at the Office of Academic Advising.
• Student Government Association representative on College committees; Academic Council: Inquire at the Office of Campus Life.